Royal & Ancient chief dismisses chances of the return of Open Championship at Royal Portrush
Irish Open might have found its way back to the Royal Portrush after a lapse of more than five decades, primarily due to the relentless efforts of major winners Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy and Darren Clarke.
However, Royal and Ancient (R&A) insists that the course is least prepared to hold the Open Championship.
R&A revealed the inclusion of Royal Portrush at the end of the closing season in 2011 and announced that the 2012 Irish Open will be held at the scenic Portrush.
Although this marked a major success in Northern Irishmen’s relentless efforts to promote golf in their country, R&A Chief Peter Dawson, who visited the course recently, insisted that there are miles to go before the course could possibly hold the Open.
“I enjoyed my visit. It’s a great golf course. But it hasn’t had the treatment that other Open courses have had and some of that would be required,” Dawson said.
He added, “And there are layout issues. It’s not obvious where the practice ground would go, for example. Or where the tented village could be sited”.
The issue had been circling the media for a considerable period of time, especially when it resurfaced after McIlroy’s glorious victory at the US Open at Congressional last year.
McDowell, the 2010 US Open winner, has been one of the most ardent supporters of the cause and hopes to see the Open Championship coming back to the scenic venue, after it was last held here in 1951.
Dawson expressed his reservations about the toughness of the terrain and said that although the fairways and roughs are fairly reasonable for spectator movement, the overall ground condition will not allow throngs of audience to visit the event.
He also cited many other reasons hampering an Open-return, one of which is the lack of infrastructure, roads and five-star hotels in the vicinity that could cater for the needs of the high profile visitors from across the world.
He further added, “And we will be very interested to see how the course copes commercially and in terms of spectator movement when the Irish Open is held there later this year. So we are taking it seriously”.
Irish Open, scheduled to be held at Royal Portrush this year, will be returning to the course after it was last held in 1947.
This will be the first time that the event will be held at the venue under the supervision of the European Tour.
Despite its misgivings, Royal Portrush provides an excellent preparation for the Open Championships, which is usually played at one of the designated nine Links courses under the supervision of R&A.
Royal Portrush is an excellent Links layout and the event this year will feature some of the big wigs of the sport, who will take on the challenge before heading into the Open.
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